I think the discussion of teen dads is really interesting. We hear so much about the moms and not a whole lot about the dads. We are quick to assume that the dad is a horrible guy but I started thinking about his side of the situation.
Society has this stereotype that all teen dads are bad. There is a certain expectation that the dad will leave or not take care of the baby or be there for the mom. This may be true in many cases but not all. And if society puts up this expectation, how do we expect the father to do any different? The more that society looks at these teen dads as bad, the more likely they are to act this way. And usually no matter what the dad decides to do, he is looked at negatively. For example, if a dad decides to drop out of school and find work, he can only provide little support for the mom because he can only get a minimum-wage job like any other teenager. So he is looked at negatively for not providing enough. But if he stays in school to be more educated and provide more later on, he is looked at negatively for not providing right away. So the question is, what do we expect from these dads? What would be the ideal situation? I can’t think of any.
You can’t cut these dads out of the picture because they play a huge role in the child’s life. The link has statistics that show how important dads are and how they affect their child’s life along the road. http://www.dadsworld.com/parenting-statistics/importance-of-fathers.html
I think there should be programs to help teen dads. It should give them guidance on becoming a man and a father. This is a hard time for any male teenager. Having a baby at this age is expecting a lot of a young man. He is most likely not prepared for this. These teen dads should be given the opportunity to be a part of the baby’s life. I know that the stereotype is probably true in a lot of cases that the dad does not take that opportunity. But if there were programs to help the dads, they would not be as clueless and scared about being a father and would hopefully take responsibility.
-Madeline Schroeder
ASHLEE REECE SAYS:
ReplyDeleteI agree that teen dads are judged differently than the mothers and are held to much lower standards. Society does make it seem like teen dad's are useless but i wouldn't say bad. The majority of media we are exposed to does present the dad's in a negative light, but there are some examples of a good teen dad in 16 and Pregnant (Kaitlyn's man). I also agree with the fact that tgier should be more examples of father's for teen males to follow. It's alomost like showing up to work and you never read your job description; how are you supposed to know what to do. In class we came to the conclusion that girl's have been conditioned for being mothers since a very early age hence the whole babrie and baby doll phase. We are naturals. boys on the other hand have always been taught to separate themselves from girls if it doesn't have anything to do with a sexual relationship I believe when they get older. So now what? I think free programs for teen dad's would be a great start, but it doesn't end there. There neen good examples, high culture media, and accountable peers. All of these play a role in how we raise our children, we just havr to know how to sort through the dirt to find the gold.
I really liked the link that was in this blog. I think strong role models are important for all kids and children need to be influenced by male and female mentors. Dad's are very important for raising kids, and some dads may have different ways to show it. For some family's it may be enough just for the dad to bring home the bacon and other family's may need the dad to be the primary care giver. It is weird how we have this stereotype of what makes a good dad when it can't really be defined. It is different for every family and their needs so a good teen dad to one demographic could be a bad teen dad to another. I think people should start looking at the stereotypes of teen dad's just as much as the stereotypes we have with teen mom's.
ReplyDeleteMaggie Anderson
I completely agree with you about everything. And I do like learning about this subject, it is very interesting. Teen dads are steriotypically thought of as being dead beats, but like you said this is not always true. When they are looked at like this and socially thought of as this, then how do we expect them to think or do anything different. I do think males need classes to help them become better fathers. And I think that fathers are very important in a childs life. My parents are divorced, so I do not see my dad very much and I miss him, but luckily I have an amazing step father. Maybe one day the sterotypes will change, but I do not see that happening any time soon.
ReplyDeleteElaina Stansberry
Chasidy Allen Says:
ReplyDeleteYes it is true that people have negative stereotypes of teen fathers, but it is up to them raise of above the standard and do better. No one is going to give you a way out you have to find a way out for yourself. I believe that just because they are expected to fail they shouldn't fall victim to that stereotype! I feel like if you had a child you should live up to what you've done and take care of that child. That child did not ask to be brought into this world therefore they should not be punished by their father just because he does not want to take care of his responsibilities